Here’s What’s Happening (in order of appearance):

Full Board Meeting of Manhattan Community Board 4 / Participatory Budgeting Voting  / The Furies at Hudson Guild / Music, Art, & More at Verdi Cannabis  /  Know Your Rights Virtual Immigration Workshop (Taller Virtual de Inmigración: Conozca Sus Derechos) / Art Exhibits at Hudson Guild/  The Return of Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea

The Full Board Meeting of Manhattan Community Board 4 (MmCB4): Wednesday, April 2, 6;30pm Online via Zoom & YouTube and In-Person at the Hotel Trades Council (305 W. 44th St. btw. 8/9 Aves.) |  The full membership of MCB4 usually convenes on the first Wednesday of the month–as they do this time around, on April 2. These meetings are where letters generated by individual committes are discussed and voted upon. That accounts for the lion’s share of Agenda Items, but there are a few other stalwart features, including status reports from local elected officials or their reps. And then, there are the opportunities for public comment, during which you are given two minutes of uninterrupted time to go before the Board with your POV. Pro Tip: If arriving with prepared comments, have a one-minute version as well. MCB4 has been known to invoke the 1-minute option when the Agenda is Item-heavy and/or there is an unusually large number of people signed up to speak in the anything-goes Public Session or the Public Hearing section, in which regular citizens can weigh in on matters to be considered by the Full Board later that same night. (For the April 2 meeting, the Public Hearing concerns the future use of 550 West 20th Street, formerly functioning as Bayview Women’s Correctional Facility. Members of the public wanting to participate in the Session or Hearing can do so by showing up at the in-person location or registering to attend via Zoom (for Zoom regitration, click here. . Another option to attend is to view the proceedings livestreaming-style via MCB4’s well-curated YouTube channel (clisck here to access it). Note: MCB4 meetings can be viewed after the fact, as archived recordings on the YouTube channel.  To attend via phone, call 646-518-9805 (when prompted, the Webinar ID s 986 0945 5541). For info about all things MCB4, their website can be found by  clicking here.

Participatory Budgeting Voting Now Through April 6, Online & In-Person | A cool million–yes, that’s $1 million from the caital discretionary budget of NYC Council Member Erik Bottcher–funds this opportunity for residents of Council District 3 to fund projects in schools, parks, and other  public spaces. A March 27 District 3 Expo provided a brick-and-mortar look at all of the projects that made it onto the Participatory Budgeting ballot (and gave attendees the chance to be the first to vote for their top 3 ballot items).  The voting period is March 29 through April 6, taking place online and in-person.  To vote online, click here. For in-person voting info, see the  well-made flyer directly below; it’s got pretty much everything you need to know.

Live Jazz at Henry & The Lions (405 West 23rd St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.), Fridays, 6:30pm-8:30pm as of April 4 | Henry & The Lions, whose culinary relaunch we covered in this February 2025 “Support Small Businesses” profile, continues to expand its offerings with a free live performance from the Al Cohen Trio every Friday, 6:30p-8:30pm beginning on April 4.  For more info, click here to visit their website. You can also call 212-888-7779 or send an email to info@henryandthelions.com. (Special thanks to the West 400 Block Association’s March 28 newsletter, where we first heard of this.)

The Furies (a contempory adaptation of The Oresteia): April 4-13 at the Murray Haber Theatre at Hudson Guild (441 W. 26th St. btw. 9th  & 10th Aves.) | See the below flyer for more info, and click here to order tickets ($12 general admission).

Events at Verdi Cannabis (158 W. 23rd St. btw. 6th & 7th Aves.) | Having recently celebrated its first full year since setting up shop on West 23rd Street, legal cannabis distributor Verdi Cannabis offers free arts programming via gallery-style displays of artwork on their walls, and a Thursday night music series. Now through April 12, the featured artist is Dina Freeman, whose work appears, gallery-style, on Verdi’s walls (and is available for purchase). To keep up with what else is up with Verdi, click here to visit their website. To visit the EVENTS page of their website, click here.

Vanderbilt in the City: Conversations on America | Thursday, April 10 & Thursday, May 1 at Vanderbilt University (440 W. 21st St. btw. 9th & 10th Aves.) | This three-event series is the first piece of public programming from Nashville, Tennessee-based University since last year’s announcement that a long-term lease will see them establish an academic presence in West Chelsea (on General Theologic Seminary property; W. 20th to 21st Sts., 9th to 10th Aves.). Curated in a manner befitting an academic’s restless curiosity, Conversations on America, they tell us, “will convene faculty and thought leaders for discussions that explore big questions” by highlighting “the dynamic perspectives of what it means to be an American today as our role in the world is shifting.” On March 6, the theme is America and the World.

On April 10, American Humor is explored (6:30pm reception, 7pm panel discussion)—and on May 1, the series closes with Health in America: Challenges and Opportunities. Attendance is open to the public, and registration is required. Click here to do so. For the full story via Vanderbilt’s Feb. 6, 2025 press announcement click here.

Council Member Carlina Rivera, Aid for Life, and Congressman Jerry Nadler Host a Know Your Rights Virtual Immigration Workshop (Taller Virtual de Inmigración: Conozca Sus Derechos): Sunday, April 6 / Domingo, 6 de abril / 4pm – 5:30pm Online | You’ll learn about your legal rights regardless of immigration status; what to do if ICE comes to your home, work, or stops you in public; how to create an emergency family plan; and where to find legal resources and community support. (Aprenderás sobre tus derechos legales independientemente de tu estatus migratorio; qué hacer si ICE llega a tu casa, trabajo, o te detiene en público; cómo crear un plan familiar de emergencia; y dónde encontrar recursos legales y apoyo comunitario.)

Water’s Voice and Our Fragile Moment: Climate Crisis-Themed Exhibits at Hudson Guild | Free to the public, these exhibits are the latest in Hudson Guild’s Art in Response series in which “artists  examine issues of social and political importance to our community.” Water’s Voice considers the powerful presence of water in nature—and ourselves. (“We are mostly water,” the exhibit’s promo material notes.) The work of artists Patricia Espinosa, Eleanor Goldstein, Ellie  Irons, Susan Knight, Michelle Lougee, and Camille Seaman celebrate and champion water, working in a variety of formats and mediums. Free to view at Guild Gallery II (119 Ninth Ave.) through April 22; Tues. through Fri., 10am to 5pm, and by appointment (call 212-760-9837 to schedule a visit).

Having opened on February 13 at Hudson Guild Gallery (441 W. 26th St.) with a free reception from 5:30pm to 7pm, the exhibit Our Fragile Moment highlights environmental issues, including sea level rise. “The  combined voices of these artists allow beauty to blend with sadness, fear to be overlaid with hope and optimism, and  apathy to be turned to action,” notes artist/educator Fran Beallor, who curated this exhibit as well as Water’s Voice. As for the talent featured in Our Fragile Moment, Beallor’s hand-picked roster includes Rachel Aisenson, M. Annenberg, Nicole Betancourt,  Lois Bender, Pam Brown, Pamela Casper, Jesica Clark, Simona Clausnitzer, Nora Chavooshian, January Yoon Cho, Nicole Cooper, Cailyn  Dawson, Noreen Dean Dresser, Anke Frohlich, Nancy Gesimondo, Pearl Rosen Golden, Deborah Kruger, Sally Linder,  Christina Massey, Mars Miller, Eleni Mylonas, Beryl Perron-Feller, Grace Graupe Pillard, Jeffrey Allen Price, Kristin  Reed, Yvonne Lamar Rogers, Ann R. Shapiro, Amrita Singh, Molly Tenzer, Tammy West, Jane Whitten, and Lucy Wilner.

“Our Fragile Moment” is free to view through April 22; Tues. through Fri., 10am to 6pm, Sat., 12pm to 3pm, and by appointment (call 212-760-9837to schedule a visit). Monday, March 24, 76pm to 8:30pm, artists from both exhibits come together for a virtual event: “Artists on the Climate Crisis An Artists Talk on Art.”  This online discussion is held via Zoom. Click here for the link and when prompted, use 737066 as the password.

UPCOMING: Down to Earth Farmers Market Chelsea is almot back! It will take place every Saturday starting April 19, 9am to 2pm, West 23rd St. off 9th Ave.  For more info, click here.

—Listings compiled by Scott Stiffler

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